Montoya fromthe 70's...what to do with it?

[ze_doktar]

I got this Montaya 4-string from the 70's on Ebay. Dude said it was in storage except when his grandson used it a little. I figured, it should be in good shape then. SO I put $50 on it.

I ended up having to open it up and resolder the jack so it sounded like a bass instead of a distorted air-raid siren. Most of the screws on the scratchplate just fell out, thanks to rust. It works mostly now, except the "G" string keeps detuning very quickly.

The neck and body seem to be in pretty good shape, for the most part. The volume knob is ok, tone knob barely works, theres some peeling of the finish near the bridge, and there appears to be a bridge cover missing. Theres also a minor chip in the side of the neck and a small gap on the body, just below the neck, where you can see the truss rod.


I'll post pictures when my camera finally comes back.

I'd like to restore it or at least build a playable bass out of it, but I haven't done any such thing before, and I kind of wonder if I'd be better off buying a new one. I realize its a vintage bass and it'd be cool to restore, but I don't wanna put a fortune into it either.

Any suggestion for parts? I could try to redo it the way it was, but it might be better to put some killer gear in it and make a monster. My experience here is somewhat limited, and I do plan on bugging the local guitar repair guru.

So what do I put in it? The bridge, all the electronics, and at least one tuning key gotta go.

*edit* Its a Montaya, I'm just illiterate. Also, appears to be a Fender copy.

[62bass]

I'm not familiar with the Montoya but I doubt there is any vintage value there. If the body and neck are good, you could, with a lot of work and expense, make it into decent bass. Besides the tuning keys, you may need a new bridge, controls, pickups and wiring, plus the cost of refinishing, if yoiu get that done by someone else. You can buy a good sounding, better playing bass from Yamaha or Ibanez brand new for less than what you'll put into that Montoya.

A guitar player friend of mine picked up a cheap Startocaster knockoff for $100 a couple years ago and wanted me to make it playable and to sound like his real Strat. When we figured out the cost we found he could buy a decent used Strat cheaper.

If you haven't done this kind of work before you have a fair bit to learn. If you want to restore it for the fun and experience, it will be good for that.

I'd say, if you want to keep it, replace the tuning key. You'll have to search for a suitable replacement used and may have to buy a full set. Put on a new set of good strings and do a set up. Then you'll have a playable bass that may or may not sound okay.